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1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks extend losses amid mixed data

Xinhua, April 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower after choppy trading on Tuesday, as economic data came out mixed.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 200.19 points, or 1.11 percent, to 17,776.12. The S&P 500 dropped 18.35 points, or 0.88 percent, to 2,067.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 46.56 points, or 0.94 percent, to 4,900.88.

U.S. Consumer Confidence Index rose from February's reading of 98.8 to 101.3 in March, well above market consensus of 95.5, reported the Conference Board Tuesday.

"Consumer confidence improved in March after retreating in February. This month's increase was driven by an improved short- term outlook for both employment and income prospects; consumers were less upbeat about business conditions," said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, in a statement.

The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Business Barometer inched up in March after a sharp decline in the previous month, but was still below the 50 threshold, marking contraction for the second month in a row. The figure hit 46.3 this month, slightly above February's 45.8.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, a leading measure of U. S. home prices, showed that the 10-City Composite gained 4.4 percent year-over-year, up from 4.3 percent in December, and the 20-City Composite added 4.6 percent year-over-year, compared to a 4.4 percent increase in December.

Both the 10 and 20-City Composites reported virtually flat month-over-month changes, while the national index was down 0.1 percent in January, the fifth consecutive month of decline.

Concerns about rate hikes still weighed on investor sentiment. According to media reports, Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker said on Tuesday that he expected solid growth and rising inflation this year, and would urge the U.S. central bank to start raising interest rates relatively soon.

For the month, the blue-chip Dow fell 2.0 percent, and the broader S&P 500 lost 1.7 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 1.3 percent.

Wall Street rose sharply Monday, with all the three major indices surging more than 1 percent, boosted by upbeat economic data and optimistic sentiment from overseas stock markets. Endite